206 



Minnesota Plant Life. 



Fig. 85. Minnesota Muhlenberg gra.ss. 

 After Britton and Hrown. 



Varieties of grasses. It is not possible in the space at com- 

 mand to ,!L::ive any adequate idea of 

 tlie various species of grasses wliicli 

 grow within the borders of the 

 state. The majority of them are 

 turf-forming plants and are marked 

 by strong underground rootstocks 

 which branch and creep beneath the 

 surface of the soil, sending lateral 

 ofTshoots into the light. A great 

 many different types of flower clus- 

 ters are to be met with, varying 

 from the solid spikes of the timothy 

 or millet to the very loose and 

 straggling clusters of the tumble- 

 grasses and blue-grasses. A few 

 grasses are aquatic, permitting their 



leaves to float on the surface of the water. These may be 

 recognized, when in flower or in fruit, by the characteristic 



grass-like aggregates which they 

 produce. Some are semi-a(|uatic, 

 finding their homes on the edges 

 of lakes or swamps, as, for ex- 

 ample, the reed-grasses and the 

 wild rice. A number of varieties 

 are found only in tamarack 

 swamps and marshes or where 

 there is an abundance of shade. 

 A few. with sparsel\- clustered 

 flowers and rather broad, thin 

 leaves, frecjuent the depths of the 

 forest, bin the great majority are 

 to be looked for in meadows and 

 on the prairie. Some (^f them, like 

 the l)uffalo grass, with their shriv- 

 eled aspect and xigorous root- 

 system, indicate a strong adap- 

 tation to dry regions or deserts, 

 Indian corn. ^>(niK'tinu> in the grasses the llowers are sep- 

 arated so that the staminate flowers occin- in dit'ferent clusters 



l-'i<;. *5<i. lieckniaii gra.ss. 

 and Urown 



After Hrittoii 



